THIS TENDER LAND BY WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER

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BOOK DESCRIPTION

The acclaimed author of Ordinary Grace crafts a powerful novel about an orphan's life-changing adventure traveling down America's great rivers during the Great Depression, seeking both a place to call home and a sense of purpose in a world sinking into despair. 

"Ask me, God's right here. In the dirt, the rain, the sky, the trees, the apples, the stars in the cottonwoods. In you and me, too. It's all connected, and it's all God. Sure this is hard work, but it's good work because it's a part of what connects us to this land. This beautiful, tender land." 

1932: Located on the banks of the Gilead River in Minnesota, Lincoln School is home to hundreds of Native American boys and girls who have been separated from their families. The only two white boys in the school are orphan brothers Odie and Albert, who, under the watchful eyes of the cruel superintendent Mrs. Brickman, are often in trouble for misdeeds both real and imagined. The two boys' best friend is Mose, a mute Native American who is also the strongest kid in school. And they find another ally in Cora Frost, a widowed teacher who is raising her little girl, Emmy, by herself. 

When tragedy strikes down Mrs. Frost, it's the catalyst for a series of events that will send Odie, Albert, and Mose to rescue Emmy and flee down the river in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi, leaving a dead body in their wake. Soon, they are wanted by the law, and they know that Mrs. Brickman will stop at nothing to track them down for dark reasons of her own. Over the course of this unforgettable summer, Odie, Albert, Mose, and Emmy carefully make their way through the small river towns and big cities filled with people who are by turns desperate and generous, cruel and kind. As they search for a place to belong, these four remarkable children will lose their innocence but gain the strength to survive in the face of terrible loss. 

With his signature "pitch-perfect, wonderfully evocative" (Dennis Lehane, New York Times best-selling author) prose, William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

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Release date 

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

MY REVIEW

Every once in a while, a reviewer uses the superlative assertion: “If you only read one book this year, it should be…” I’ve never made this assertion (because, frankly, I can’t imagine such a circumstance) but if I were to recommend a singular, VERY IMPORTANT BOOK, it would indeed be “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger.

This novel really has everything one could wish for: vivid characterizations, historical verisimilitude, an intricate and fast-moving plot, and honest confrontation with the reality of good and evil as it is played out in the lives of ordinary people challenged by the ordeals of the Great Depression. Although some might question the authenticity of the maturity levels attributed to the two youngest children, “almost” 13-year-old narrator Odie and 4-year-old Emmy, it doesn’t come across as in any sense contrived. These are children already aware that while fantasy can lighten challenging circumstances, there is a base line of grim reality which must be negotiated.

This story also has a unifying thread of spirituality, love and hope which – while never intrusive or preachy – powerfully enriches the narrative. The two vignettes of the children’s encounters with Sister Eve and her healing ministry as well as with the Schofield family in the shanty town of “Hopersville” give deep insight into the ways in which community and compassion provide the impetus for survival even in the darkest times. In addition, though the book lays out the infamous history of the betrayal of the Indian people (specifically the Sioux, given the upper-Midwestern setting of the story) by the Government and greedy, abusive whites, it allows forgiveness and redemption to play a significant role. Author Krueger has accomplished a marvel of a work which simultaneously challenges, convicts, and uplifts.